Apénanti
by ASlaveToWords
Summary: They say opposites attract. Such is so for friends as well as romantic relationships. Sometimes, the more opposite a pair, the more they compliment each other. And as a wise blunette puts it; sometimes the biggest of rivals are the best of friends.


**A/N: This is a take on an old story that I posted before but... didn't really work out. Now, Ive re-edited it, changed some things and, voila! Here it is. Hopefully things turn out better this time! xD Wish me luck and please lemme know what you think :)**

**Disclaimer: I own my OCs. That is all  
**

* * *

Finally, this was it; no more pussy footin' around. They were in the big leagues now.

Drina Hamasaki could feel the discomfort burning through her. Glancing over at her teammate, and best friend for the past two years; Xiomara "Xio" Duprae, she noted that the elder girl was calm and collected as per usual. It was as if Xio was unaffected by the fact that they were entering their first major league Beyblading tournament. The younger girl couldn't really comprehend how or why Xio was still so calm when she herself was a nervous wreck. But of course, she didn't voice her thoughts as they waited in line to register.

"Apénanti?"

The two girls exchanged a look before Xio walked forward, talking in a low voice to the assistant that would register them into the tournament. Drina held back, waiting, as her bright gold eyes scanned the BBA headquarters. She recognized several of the bladers from the previous tournaments, and deep down a single thought kept nagging at the back of her head; were they even good enough to take any of them on?

"_Damn it! Yes, we are, we're so ready for this! I can't let myself forget; all these people, even the World Champs, started at the bottom at one point__."_

With a small sigh, Drina set her face with a confident expression. She leaned against the wall as she waited for her teammate to straighten out all the details. Absently, her gaze wandered and a moment later it caught on her own reflection in a glass display case across the way, instantly locking on the profile portrayed on it. Skin the color of mocha, eyes like molten gold, hair the color of eggplant with a naturally gorgeous luster.

Just now, said hair was pulled up into a high, thick ponytail, the bottom of which barely brushed the base of her neck and sat a little towards the back left of her head. Bangs were swept back into the tail and a few long wispy pieces were left free to frame her face. Today she wore a lemon yellow shirt, ruffled and off the shoulder, midriff bearing with baggy, three-quarter sleeves and lace around the top; a sort of Spanish appeal. A pair of dark blue denim short shorts hugged her hips just right and a pair of brown and yellow wedges looked great on her feet. The golden hoops, matching cuff bracelet and anklet she wore completed her outfit perfectly.

"_Not to toot my own horn but – toot!__" _Drina couldn't resist a small grin of amusement at that thought._ "I might not be the cutest thing around but that doesn't mean I don't look damn good! Even if we don't win, we've got one thing goin for us; Apénanti is one good-looking team!"_

Drina glanced at her teammate again, watching as Xio finished up her conversation with the assistant, before the older girl turned to her.

"Good to go." Xio said, her voice melodic, serene.

Drina had respected the girl beside her ever since the day they'd met, and they'd immediately hit it off. Their relationship was quite simple for two opposites; Drina was the wild one, the only one who could truly get Xio to unwind and have fun, while Xio was the voice of reason that kept her partner from crossing the wrong lines.

Xio's pale silver eyes were an opalescent shade, almost colorless at first glance, and it was for this reason that she always wore dark sunglasses. She wore her deep teal locks pulled back in a messy style updo, with full bangs and two strands framing her peaches and cream colored face. People had the tendency to be taken aback by her appearance, usually finding her eyes eerie and unnerving, though Drina had no problem with them at all.

She was clad in grey stone-washed form-fitting jeans; a ¾ inch sleeved black jacket and a white tank top. Black leather gloves, the last three fingerless, covered her hands, and on her feet she wore knee-high black stilettos. She had her ears pierced nine times on the left side and seven on the right, and she wore a plain black choker and multiple black bracelets on her right arm. Her left arm held a thick, black, leather watch.

Now Xio, to say the least, definitely stood out. Then again, Apénanti in general stood out. Their name quite literally translated to _Opposite._ They were nothing alike yet complimented each other so well it was awe-inspiring.

"We could probably get some practice in this afternoon. You up for it?" Xio asked, glancing at her.

"Do you even need to ask?" Drina replied, a devilish grin coming to her face. "I can't wait to see our training room! We need a bigger place to practice. I think sis is getting pretty sick of us shredding the backyard."

Xio gave a soft laugh at that. "Come on, it's just down this corridor here."

Drina fell into step beside her, glad that the temperature was on the cold side thanks to the air conditioning system. It was unbearably hot outside, and that was one of the things Drina hated about her hometown. She remembered visiting her mother's birthplace a few years back and she thought it was going to kill her, vowing never to go there again, or at least not when it was that hot! Compared to there, Japan was a dream come true, but she still wished it was a little cooler in summer.

"Holy mother of Mary! Look at this place." A wild grin appeared on Drina's face as they opened the door with a card-key. The room was a high-tech training facility that they had acquired by participating in the tournament. "Xio, we are moving up the in the world!"

"It is pretty impressive." The greenette agreed, a look of approval on her face as she too looked around.

Drina grinned wide before whipping out her blade, anxious to try out the training room. She busied herself setting up her gear while Xio looked over the computer system that would monitor theirs and their blades stats.

"Alright, that should do it." Xio said, straightening and turning towards her teammate. "You ready?"

"Ready as a kid on Christmas morning!" Drina replied with excitement, lifting her blade up before her. It was a handsome gold plated blade, all the one color, and shone brightly thanks to the regular polishing it received.

"OK. When you're ready; three, two, one."

"Let it-"

Drina paused in the releasing of her blade and blinked when she noticed a peculiar sight outside of the window. A boy had his face and hands pressed against the glass, watching with big brown eyes. She recognized him but couldn't quite place from exactly where, though the weird red and blue backwards cap he wore definitely should have been a giveaway.

"Hey, Xio, there's some weird kid watching us."

Xio looked up from the computer and turned towards the window.

"Hmm?" Glancing over, she saw they did in fact have an audience. Without hesitation, she strolled over to the window and pressed the button that lowered the metal shutters.

Drina made a face. "That was creepy."

"Ignore him." Xio said simply. When she turned back and approached her teammate again she reached behind her and took her blade and launcher from her belt. Her blade was an array of teal swirls with a deep teal colored attack ring. "Now, how about that practice battle?"

"Bring it on, sister!"

"Don't think I'm gonna go easy on you just because this is a practice run."

Drina smirked and raised her launcher. "Consider me warned!... By the way, you can lose the shades ya know; it's just you and me."

Xio reached up at that and pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head, blinking once to focus before setting a playful expression on her teammate. Drina beamed and narrowed her own eyes in determination. Xio's face regained it's serious expression and both girls cleared their minds as they concentrated on the task at hand.

"No holding back, right?"

"Wouldn't dream of it, Dre."

"Three, two, one. Let it rip!"

* * *

"Hey! Will you two give it a rest already and come eat a real meal for once!"

Drina and Xio looked up from their spot under the shade of the big cherry blossom tree in the backyard and their gazes settled on the elder Hamasaki sibling. She was a tall, slender and gorgeous individual, very much alike and yet very different from Drina. Her name was Jessenia; Jessi for short, and though she shared her sister's skin and eye color, her hair was quite a bit a brighter shade of purple than Drina's darker shade of violet. The simple white denim shorts she wore hugged her frame just right and baggy navy jersey she wore tucked into them gave her a quirky sort of look.

Jessi had been raising her two younger siblings since her parents had passed away in a car accident four years previous. As of two years before, she'd also taken Xio under her wing and was admittedly grateful to have the girl under their roof because the greenette was a great help.

"Eh? Oh… yea we'll be in in a bit sis." Drina said absently, looking back down at her blade and twisting the pieces back together. "Just gotta finish up."

"Well don't be too long ya hear me?" Jessi said, placing a hand on her hip and giving the two a stern look. Drina tried to ignore the sudden pang she got as she was suddenly reminded of their mother and she couldn't help but smile sadly.

"Yes mom." She teased playfully. Jessi's expression softened and she removed her hand from her hip as she returned the comment with a small smile of her own.

"Just don't become so obsessed with this tournament thingy that you forget to take care of yourselves." Jessi scolded lightly, though she couldn't deny that she was proud of the girls for getting as far as they had. "I've got enough on my plate without having to worry about you two."

"Yes, sis." Drina replied with a grin, rolling her eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me missy!" Jessi scolded, lifting a finger to point at her sister. "Don't forget, I'm the one who gives you your allowance!"

Drina grinned and playfully stuck out her tongue, to which her sister mimicked her, making both siblings laugh before the latter finally turned and disappeared into the house. Golden eyes turned on the greenette then and the huge grin widened impossibly big.

"Alright Xio! Let's test out our hard work!"

Xio sighed, feeling a pang of amusement. "We've already trashed both our blades once today. Don't you think once is enough?"

Drina pouted.

"Awe, c'mon Xio." She widened her eyes cutely, pushing out her bottom lip pleadingly. "Puh-leeeeze?"

"Dre." She said bluntly. "No. Jessi is right, we should take a break. Push ourselves too hard and we'll be as good as useless by the time the tournament starts."

"Fine…" Drina sighed dramatically, looking around the yard. "We really did do a number on the yard this time huh?"

Xio looked around and sweat dropped.

"Yes we did…" She muttered.

"Maybe we should do some cleaning up…" The violet-haired girl said thoughtfully. "Or maybe I'll just climb up and snag some of those cherry blossoms for my room. They'd smell great at night when I go to bed!"

Xio sighed and shook her head as her teammate moved towards the tree and proceeded to climb it, disappearing almost immediately among the thick branches and blossoms. The greenette moved around the yard, righting tipped over pots and décor and trying to tidy up a little. At one point she crouched to pick up the stone basin that was the bird bath and paused, her hand on the stem of the object, and blinked at the sight before her. Just a few feet away, Xio noticed familiar brown eyes peering through the gaps in the fence.

"_Where do I know him from...?"_ Xio thought absently. Before she could say anything however, a movement caught her attention and she turned to see that Drina had leapt from her spot in the tree and landed gracefully beside her in a crouch, her eyes narrowed on the boy on the other side of the fence.

Said boy yelped in surprise when Drina appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and fell backwards, landing on his backside and blinking at the two in astonishment.

"Tyson! There you are!"

The two girls turned to see a small group of people approaching the blunette. There was a short brunette with glasses clutching a laptop, a long-haired oriental-looking ravenette, a bubbly looking blonde, a brunette girl and a dual-haired blunette.

"Woah! You scared the crap outta me!" Tyson grinned, hopping to his feet and placing his hands on the fence as he leaned in over it and grinned at the girls.

"Just who are you anyway?" Drina asked, getting to her feet and straightening now. She crossed her arms with narrowed eyes as Tyson balked at her.

"Who am- Are you serious?!" Suddenly the blunette vaulted over the fence, much to his friend's horror, and darted up to Drina, sticking his face in front of hers and pointing to it. "Take a good look! Now tell me ya don't know me!"

"TYSON!" Several voices shouted behind the blunette.

"Get back here, you idiot!" The brunette girl shouted after him.

"You can't just hop into someone's backyard like that, Tyson!" Squeaked the nerdy-looking boy.

The blond sweat dropped but there was a small smile of amusement on his face. "It's called trespassing…"

"Hey! I know you!" Drina said suddenly, stepping back and pointing a finger accusingly at the blunette. Tyson grinned wide. "You're that creepy guy who was watching us practice earlier at the BBA headquarters!"

Several people collapsed at that, including the blunette in question.

His left eye twitched. "Who are you callin' creepy?!"

"You! The guy who was staring at us and just hopped our fence!"

"Only cause I wanted to battle you!" Tyson retorted, rubbing his nose. "You two are good, I can tell!"

Xio jumped in then before a fight broke out. "You're Tyson Granger."

Tyson grinned cockily.

"Heh. Yep! That's me!" He turned towards Drina again. "Ya know, _three time_ World Champ! C'mon, how can you not know me?!"

"Eh. Guess you're not as popular as you thought." Drina replied simply. Of course she recognized him, she had almost instantly. But she knew his ego didn't need to be inflated any more. Someone had to deflate him or he'd never fit back over their fence again!

"We're Apénanti." Xio interrupted once again before anything could be started. "My name is Xiomara Duprae, but I go by Xio. And this is Drina Hamasaki. We're a minor league team that just entered the tournament. We've never competed in the major leagues before, this is our first time."

"That's great!" The blonde piped up from the other side of the fence. "It'll be awesome to have some new competition!"

Tyson blinked and, as if to make up for rudely jumping their fence, he began to introduce his teammates. "Oh, I'm captain of G-Revolution! That's Max Tate from the All Stars, Ray Kon from the White Tiger X team and Kai Hiwatari from the Blitzkrieg Boys. Those guys over there are my friends Kenny; aka Chief, and the annoying girl is Hilary."

"Who are you calling annoying?!" Hilary snapped. "I'm not the one who just barged into these nice girls' backyard!"

"Hey, no big." Drina replied with a smirk. "I'd like to take on this so-called champ."

Tyson made a face and looked at her. "What do you mean by 'so-called'?!"

"Oh, boy, here we go…" Ray muttered, only half amused by the whole situation.

"Hey, Tyson, we should head back to the dojo before some of the groceries spoil." Max pointed out suddenly, and the girls finally noticed that he and some of the others were holding a couple of grocery bags.

Tyson blinked and heard his stomach rumble, demanding food. Xio felt her own hunger and glanced at Drina, who sighed and put her blade away. Tyson made a face and then ruffled the back of his head with his hand after doing the same.

"I guess we can battle later."

"Let's go, Tyson." Hilary said, garnet eyes narrowed in a glare.

Tyson turned and hopped the fence again, leading the way down the street with the others trailing after him, all except for Ray and Kai. The neko-jin's animalistic gaze was locked on the two for a long moment, before he spoke up.

"Would you guys like to come back to the dojo with us for dinner?"

Xio raised an eyebrow. "That's very thoughtful of you. But why?"

Ray rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I guess it's my attempt at an apology on Tyson's behalf. He usually thinks with his heart instead of his head. He's a great guy, he's just…"

"A moron." Kai supplied for him, his arms crossed and a serious expression on his face as he waited for the ravenette.

Drina felt herself twitch a little at that, shaking her head, before turning to Ray, who was waiting for their response. She glanced at Xio, who gave her a shrug, and suddenly she broke into a wide and cheeky grin.

"Why not! I have a feeling it'll be damn interesting!"

"I'll go and let Jessi know where we're gone." Xio said before she stood up and went to stick her head through the kitchen window. She returned a few minutes later appearing ready to go. "How far is the dojo from here?"

"About a block or so over." Ray replied.

"Alright, lead the way cat-man!" Drina exclaimed, before she eagerly hopped the fence like Tyson had done before her.

Xio, like a normal and civilized being, used the fence's gate and joined Ray on the sidewalk while Drina decided to play circus clown, walking along the stone wall that slanted upward and lined the trees. They followed the group, catching up with them, but keeping their distance.

Max glanced up at the wall and did a double-take as he noticed Drina's balancing act.

"Be careful!" Max called up to her with a frown. "I think you should get down before you fall..."

Drina gave him a cocky grin. "Don't you worry, sweetheart, I got this! There's no way I'll fall!"

She'd barely gotten the words out of her mouth when she tripped on a raised brick, flailing her arms, and tumbling backwards off the wall. Everyone save Xio froze in shock as the greenette bounded forward to catch her friend, but she was too far away and knew she wouldn't make it in time.

A figure lunged through the air with lightning reflexes, catching the violet-haired girl in his arms, and landing lightly on the ground in a crouch, holding her against him as if she was precious child or some fairy-tale damsel in distress. Drina felt her face burning unpleasantly as she stared up at her hero.

"Uhmmm…. Thanks." She said in a nervous tone.

Ray opened his mouth to reply but sweat dropped as the girl in his arms suddenly started to sneeze as if she was hit with a sudden allergic attack. He placed her on her feet, only to have her double over, coughing and sneezing and stumbling away from him as if he had the plague.

"Um, is she allergic to anything?" Kenny inquired to the green-haired blader.

"Not really..." Xio noted in confusion, a deep frown on her face. "Well, other then certain kinds of flowers but I don't see that being it..."

Ray suddenly looked a little sheepish and guilty as he took a few pointed steps back from the girl in question.

"Uh... well..." He began, shifting uneasily. "There're these flowers that only grow in my homeland... My gi- er, a friend of mine sent me some to remind me of home and I've sort of been tending to them a lot lately..."

Everyone sweat dropped and looked at Drina, who now looked like a zombie.

"Pan-tastic..." She said sarcastically, her voice thick and nose all stuffy.

Kenny handed her a hanky and the girl blew her nose loudly. Feeling sorry for her, Hilary reached out and patted her on the back.

"Uh... Just don't touch Ray or stand too close and you'll be fine." The brunette said awkwardly.

Everyone froze as an unfamiliar laughter suddenly rang throughout the air. Turning, several people twitched in shock over the sight; Kai was clutching his sides and laughing hard with his eyes closed. The sound was entirely and downright shocking, but it also was melodic and nice to listen to.

"Dude, you're _laughing_?!" Tyson exclaimed, eyes wide.

Kai ceased his laughter and straightened up, crimson eyes narrowed. "Yeah, so? What of it?"

The other blunette stared at him for a long moment before finally shaking his head and grinning wide.

"And so started the apocalypse." He said teasingly.

"Guess he's not a robot." Hilary teased with a grin.

Max laughed, crossing his arms behind his head and closing his eyes as spoke playfully. "Well, there goes Chief's theory!"

Kai sent a death-glare at Kenny, who shrunk behind Hilary, clutching the back of her denim jacket and peering around her slowly while trembling in fear. The brunette girl felt an odd rush of emotion, feeling her heartbeat quicken its pace for some odd reason at the feeling of Kenny's fingers clutching her jacket, and a strange blush crossed her face.

"Hilarious." Kai said bluntly, moving to walk past the group, thoroughly annoyed. "You're all a bunch of regular comedians."

Drina blinked, her eyes still blood shot. After a moment she made a face and shook her head before moving to follow after the others as they too moved to follow the bluenette. Keeping her distance from Ray, she chose to walk with Hilary and Kenny instead. Tyson still had the baffled expression etched on his face from hearing Kai laugh, actually laugh about something that was actually funny, and it wasn't a cold cackle or anything. Xio was walking beside Ray, wondering how she was going to repay him for saving Drina, a girl he barely knew.

* * *

"Welcome to the dojo!" Max said warmly, spreading his arms wide as they stopped before the Champ's house.

"Do you all live here?" Xio inquired, glancing around curiously.

The dojo was fairly large, surrounded by a classic wall, and she noticed a pond with koi fish and a large, fairly old tree. Their footsteps echoed against the cobblestone path that led to the entrance to the large dojo.

"This is my house." Tyson explained. "I live here with my Grandpa, and sometimes my older brother Hiro stays here, but he ran off again to who-knows-where. Max, Ray, and Kai stay here with me whenever we're not in school and when we're competing in tournaments."

"So you two live nearby then." Xio said to Hilary and Kenny, who nodded. "Interesting. Didn't your team split up during the last tournament and you had that Daichi child with you?"

Tyson twitched at the mention of the monkey-boy. "Uh, yeah, but we decided to be a team again for this tournament. Daichi decided to run off to train and become even stronger, and I think is traveling with a family member."

Xio nodded in comprehension before glancing at Drina, who was oddly quiet. It wasn't like her partner to not voice her thoughts or butt into a conversation.

"I'll get started on dinner." Ray said once they entered the dojo, leaving their shoes at the door. "Any volunteers to help?"

Hilary smiled. "I'll help you, Ray."

"And what, burn everything? No thanks." Tyson replied with a small sneer.

Hilary glared at him. "Shut up, Tyson! I won't burn anything!"

"Um, ya know what Hil, I think I can handle it by myself. Thanks though." Ray quickly said, sweat dropping. "Why don't you help Drina find some allergy medicine so I, uh, don't give her another allergy attack?"

He was blushing somewhat in embarrassment over the fact that he was indeed an indirect cause of Drina's allergies.

Hilary blinked as if remembering.

"Oh, that's right. C'mon, Drina, let's get you some." She grabbed said girl's wrist and dragged her out of the room.

"I'll help you." Max whispered to the neko-jin so Hilary wouldn't hear.

Ray chuckled in return and smiled. "Thanks, Max."

Kai turned and walked out the back door without a word, disappearing into the now dark backyard, the sun's final rays disappearing as night arrived. Xio watched the stoic blader disappear before she noticed Kenny staring at her inquisitively, a thoughtful expression on his face. She stared down at him.

"Why are you wearing your sunglasses still?" He asked innocently.

Uncomfortably, Xio looked at the ceiling, and just gave a shrug. Kenny frowned and opened his mouth to ask another question, but Tyson placed a hand on the shorter boy's shoulder and averted his attention to him.

"Hey, Chief, I want you to double-check Dragoon for me before dinner, is that okay?"

"Sure, Tyson!"

Xio sighed in relief and gave the Champ an ever-so-slight smile of gratitude before looking around. The place had a strange feel to it, and she recognized it. The scent, the feeling, and even the sounds were all familiar.

This place had the aura of home to it.

She felt welcome, and it was strange to say the least. A small smile crept to her lips, before she glanced out into the backyard again, curious about the layout for beybattling. She inclined her head to Tyson.

"Is it alright if I explore a bit before dinner?" She asked the blunette politely.

"What?" Tyson questioned, looking up from something he'd been fiddling with. "Oh. Yeah, sure, go ahead. Just don't bug Kai, he might just eatcha."

Xio didn't reply as she turned on her heel and disappeared out the door just as Hilary returned with Drina, who was looking loads better. The two popped into the kitchen were Max was helping Ray with a mouth-watering stew.

"How long until dinner?" Drina asked as she sniffed the air appreciatively. "Man, I'm starving…"

"Now who does that sound like?" Hilary smirked, jabbing a thumb in Tyson's and Drina's general direction.

Max chuckled as he replied. "They sure do have a lot in common."

Drina blinked, wondering if this was an insult or a compliment. The wide grin she gave a moment later told them she'd decided on the latter. She made no comment however but cheered loudly when Ray started to serve up the stew. He glanced at Tyson.

"Mind getting Kai and Xio?"

"Yeah, no prob, pal."

Tyson turned and walked out the backdoor. His brown eyes scanned the area, and quicky found Kai staring down and at the koi fish, deep in thought.

"Hey Kia, buddy! Dinner's up."

Receiving a small nod of acknowledgement, Tyson turned away form the other bluenette and turned to go find Xio.

He found her in the training room of the dojo, one of the kendo swords in hand, inspecting it. Brown eyes widened in surprise as she performed a perfect strike with it, before placing it reverently back on the stand.

"You know, Grandpa teaches classes, if you're interested."

Xio jolted and whirled around. "Oh, Tyson..."

Tyson smiled at her. "That was pretty good."

"Kendo and fencing have always fascinated me." She informed him. "I've just never really had the time to exploit it."

"Maybe you should pick it up?"

She shook her head. "I need to focus my time on training for the tournament. I want to see how far Dre and I can get. This is more of test to me than anything else, a curious trial run if you will. Though Drina is… quite determined to win."

A smug look crossed Tyson's face. "Yeah, well, she'll have to get through me to do that."

Xio laughed lightly.

"I'm sure that will be quite the interesting battle. Is dinner ready?"

Tyson blinked. "Oh, yeah. That's why I came to find you."

"Then let's not keep the others waiting. Wouldn't want my hosts to think their new guest is rude."

Tyson watched as Xio left the room and headed back outside, leaving him blinking and staring after her oddly.

_"Wow… I don't think I've ever met a girl like her before. Xio's pretty cool."_

With a smile on his face, Tyson hurried after her to fill his stomach until it was ready to explode!

* * *

Drina looked like she was in heaven as she patted her tummy. "That was the best meal I've had in a very long time, Ray! You are a culinary master!"

Ray smiled at her compliment. "Glad you think so, Drina."

Xio glanced at the time, wondering if now would be a good time to say their goodbye, but she didn't want to leave so early. The two girls were actually enjoying themselves getting to know the Bladebreakers, for they hadn't really had anyone to relate to like this for a very long time. Jessi liked to have them home before it got too late but she wasn't normally strict and it was still early. So, the greenette deemed they still had some time.

"Sure is a nice summer night…" Ray said softly, inhaling the rich summer air as everyone sat outside on the front porch sipping after-dinner tea and coffee. "It's cooled down a lot outside. Why don't we all go for a walk through the park?"

Kenny looked worried. "Isn't the park closed this time of night?"

"So?" Tyson grinned, eager for a little rebellion and adventure. "Let's do it!"

"I'm game." Drina replied at once.

Max had a sheepish smile on his face. "Yeah, me too. What do you say Hil?"

Hilary gave a nod.

"Yeah." She turned to Kenny. "C'mon chief, it'll be fun."

"Um… well… okay." Kenny said with a faint blush, lowering his gaze to his lap.

"Kai, you comin'?" Tyson inquired, turning his wide eyes on the silent one in the corner.

Kai gave an almost irritable sigh. "Fine…"

He knew he wouldn't hear the end of it from Tyson _and_ Hilary if he didn't.

"Then let's do it to it!" Max laughed.

They stood up and filed out, walking in a strange formation. Ray was leading the way, Xio walking beside him with her hands in her jacket pockets. She didn't know why she already felt comfortable with Ray, but she did. He was an easy person to be drawn to, plus she owed him for saving Drina from going splat earlier.

Tyson, Hilary, and Kenny walked right behind them, with Drina and Max trailing behind them, and Kai covering the rear. The night was quiet and they soon reached the locked gates of the park. Tyson smirked as he sent a somewhat devious look at Kenny, who squeaked and cowered behind Hilary once again.

"Who's going to need help getting over?" Ray asked.

Only Kenny it seemed.

"I'll go first." Xio volunteered, before she climbed over with surprising ease, and landed in a crouch on the other side. "Alright, come on ov– OOMPH!"

The greenette landed face-first on the ground when a flailing and screaming Kenny, who had been thrown over the gate by Tyson, landed on top of her. Xio laid there, her head throbbing painfully, and the dead weight of Kenny pressing down on her torso. She groaned and gasped in pain as she sat up, trying to pull Kenny up.

"Tyson, you jerk! Why'd you throw Kenny, huh?! You could've hurt him!" Hilary was shouting, holding Tyson's ear in a death grip.

"That's okay." Xio winced. "I broke his fall..."

Thick crocodile tears streamed down Kenny's face.

"Oh, thank you!" He wailed, obviously having been traumatized from the experience. "I'm forever in your debt, Xio!"

Xio sweat dropped, not having the heart to be mean to him, and simply offered him a weary half-smile.

"That's not necessary... But um... mind getting off me please...?"

Kenny scrambled off the green-haired girl before helping her to her feet. A second later Ray landed beside her, immediately helping steady her as Kai, Drina, Tyson, Max, and even Hilary followed suit. Kenny was still sniffling and trembling as they started to head down the path, walking through the silent and serene park, and hearing nothing but the sound of crickets as fireflies glowed in the darkness.

"Are you going to be alright there chief?" Drina asked, her eyes softening as she noticed Kenny was clutching Hilary's arm and keeping his distance from Tyson.

"It'll be okay." Hilary reassured him, placing an arm around his shoulders, and giving his arm a small squeeze.

Once again her heart picked up speed, but she ignored it.

"So do you two have bit-beasts?" Max asked solely out of curiosity.

"Mmm-hmm!" Drina nodded happily. "I've had Messian ever since my first visit to Greece, my mom's homeland!"

"I've had Laelaps for a while as well." Xio confessed.

"I can't wait to see them!" Max said eagerly. "I bet they're powerful!"

Tyson, suddenly anxious to battle again, came to a halt as they neared the bridge and the river. Drina suddenly had her eyes narrowed on him as he stood in front of her, a familiar smirk on his face.

"We still have a battle to fight, Drina!"

Xio sighed and shook her head.

_"This boy's just as relentless and stubborn as Dre…" _

"Bring it, _Champ_!" The violet-haired girl shot back with a smirk. "It's time to de-throne you!"

Gold, sapphire, crimson, and brown eyes locked on her a second later. As one, they all took a step back away from Drina, surrounding her on all sides. Her golden eyes glanced around, noticing that their demeanors had changed considerably from friend to rival within a split second.

If she wanted to win, that meant taking down each and every single one of them.

_"Oh man... Ya really put your foot in your mouth this time, Dre."_ She thought, sweat dropping.

"Heh! You are more then welcome to try!" Tyson grinned wildly. "Just don't cry too much when you loose!"

"I'll try to contain myself." Drina replied with a confident grin that belied the nervous churning inside. "Gimme all you got, Tyson!"

The two released their blades simultaneously and in a swirl of wind, Dragoon emerged and towered over the battle field. Drina stared up in awe, her hair shaking loose from her tie and whipping around her as she watched wide-eyed.

_"Awe, man!"_ She cooed inwardly, unable to resist. _"He's so cool!"_

Hearing an annoyed whine in her head she chuckled to herself.

_"Sorry Messi! You're wicked cool too!"_

Kai's eyes narrowed in surprise as the two bladers battled it out, neither side letting up for a second.

"_She's holding up… he should've easily knocked her out by now."  
_

"Give it up, Drina." Tyson said, with a confident smirk. "Your strength doesn't come close into comparison to mine! You still have a lot of training to do before you'll be strong enough to even be in the same league as me!"

That struck a chord with his opponent and Drina gritted her teeth, eyes narrowing dangerously. "We'll see about that!"

She opened her mouth to call out her bit-beast, but another blade appeared in her field of view, spinning dangerously close to the other two as it zipped along the edge of the nearby river.

"What the hell?!" Drina exclaimed.

Tyson looked up, recognizing the owner of the blade; a familiar blunette with dancing emerald eyes wearing a green polo-like shirt with ripped sleeves and khaki pants.

"Kane, buddy, where've you been?!"

Kane Yamashita, a former blader from the team Psychics, was grinning at him as if he was an old-time friend instead of once a powerful rival.

"Came home for a visit and this is what I find? You never change, Tyson!" Kane laughed.

The grin was wiped off his face as a teal blade suddenly knocked his out of the battle. Shocked eyes turned and saw a green-haired girl smirking, the hand holding her launcher poised just so on her delicate hip.

"This is a one-on-one battle, my friend." Her fluid voice said smoothly.

Kane stared at her, completely in shock.

"_How was it she knocked me out of the battle without any effort at all?!" _He frowned and then smiled a little. "_My guard was down… I shouldn't get worked up over this._ _Though I would like to know just who that girl is…"_

"Don't worry about anyone else, Dre." Xio said to her partner. "You worry about taking down the Champ."

"Yes ma'am!" Drina ginned, turning back to her own battle.

Kane crossed the bridge and stopped at Max's side. "Just who are these girls?"

"New bladers from the minor leagues. and our new friends." The blonde explained with a smile.

Kane gave a nod of comprehension and watched the battle. He made to retrieve his blade but jumped back in shock when the teal one landed beside it, striking it and causing it to shoot up into the air. The blunette reached out and caught his blade as he looked up to blink at the other blade's owner.

"Who said this was over?" She taunted good-naturedly.

Kane blinked at the girl names Xio before feeling his smile return. "Alright then! You want a battle, you got one!"

Drina glanced to the side in surprise to see Xio starting a battle of her own with the newcomer. However, the mere fact that two beybattles were occurring at once wasn't what shocked her. It was the intense look in Xio's eyes as she battled, seeming to really enjoy herself in a way she rarely did during battle that distracted her.

It had been so long since Xio had looked so happy battling someone. Normally it was all just a game for her, just a test. Normally she didn't care if she won or lost, but this time...

Unfortunately, the momentary distraction became Drina's downfall as Tyson stole his chance, summoning Dragoon.

"Galaxy Storm!"

"Eh?... Messi?!" Drina exclaimed, stumbling backwards and trying to catch her blade, which was sent soaring through the air.

Leaping backward, she snagged her golden blade from the air and held it to her chest, but when her feet hit the ground, she lost her footing on some loose stone by the river and was sent flailing backwards down the bank. Hitting the bank hard, the wind was momentarily knocked out of her and she found herself rolling rapidly down the steep incline unable to move.

"DRINA!" Xio screamed in horror, her voice mingled with the voices of their new friends.

Drina's eyes widened, temporarily paralyzed as her body reached the bottom of the bank and fell with a big splash into the water.

Xio shot towards the bank in a blur, slipping and sliding down it until she reached the bottom. Frantically, her eyes scanned the water's surface, her panic and terror paramount. For a long while no one saw anything until finally the familiar figure burst through the water's surface with a great, greedy gulp of breath.

"Drina!" Xio called desperately.

The violet-haired girl struggled to push her way towards the bank but her chest hurt and the chilling icy water, despite the cool summer night, was numbing her body. Her hand was clenched so tightly around her blade, fearing she'd loose it, that it was cutting into her palm, but she refused to ease up.

Drina fought against the current with all her might, taking huge gulps of breath every time she broke the surface, but inevitably the water always pushed her back under again and she was quickly tiring and becoming lightheaded.

Finally, she felt the blackness closing in around her vision, and the last thing she recalled before the darkness claimed her was a dark figure swimming towards her as she sunk to the bottom of the riverbed.

* * *

"You're a hazard to yourself and to everyone around you!" Kai snapped from his spot in the corner of the dojo. "That's twice you've nearly gotten yourself killed in one day, you dumbass."

"Don't call me names, you jerk!" Drina snapped back through chattering teeth. "I didn't see you dive in after me! Tyson's the one who saved me!"

After being saved and had CPR performed on her by Ray (and then suffering from an allergy attack that nearly made her stop breathing _again_), they had immediately gotten back to the dojo in a rush, and Drina had been forced into one of Tyson's baggy t-shirts and a pair of Max's shorts.

"Hey... take it easy on her, Kai..." Max cooed softly. "It wasn't her fault, she was only trying to save her blade. You know all of us, including yourself, would have done the same thing."

"Hn." Kai snorted, turning away from them. But he made no further comment.

Her savior was bundled in three blankets much like she was, lips blue as his hair and teeth chattering just as badly as his friends tried warming him up. Max was wrapping Drina's blankets around her tightly, making sure no warmth could escape, and he began to towel-dry her hair for her. Once it was dry and brushed it out, Max then, much to her surprise and amusement, began to braid her deep violet locks.

"Should I be worried that you actually know how to do that?" She teased. Max laughed and shrugged.

"I learned it when I was a kid. When I used to live with my mom, my cousins used to come over all the time and, being the only guy, I always got roped into doing girly things with them. I guess over the years it's just something I picked up on..."

"Well, it's something you're gonna have to teach me!" Drina said with a laugh. "Cause that's something I _haven't_ been able to pick up on!"

Max grinned but before he could reply, Xio spoke up from the side of the room, where she'd been sitting quietly and thoughtfully with a frown and crossed arms.

"Kai's right." She said softly, her voice low and fluid. "You should've been more careful, Drina. You could've prevented the first incident by walking on the sidewalk with the rest of us. As for the battle... I blame you both for that. While neither of us would have seen our blades lost, it shouldn't have been an issue because you should have picked a better spot for your battle."

Drina pouted. "C'mon Xio, I need at least one person on my side..."

Xio sighed and titled her chin. "Dre, I am on your side. You know that. But that doesn't mean I'm going to just let your carelessness slide. You _have_ to learn to be more careful..."

"B-b-but…" The girl blubbered, sticking out her lip in a pout that usually made anyone she cast it at cave.

Xio gave her a look over the tops of her shades, so only she could see the piercing opalescent eyes. "Don't try that with me, Drina. You know it doesn't work."

Snorting in defeat, Drina crossed her arms under the blankets as she pouted. "Fine... Just don't tell Jess. She'll have a freak attack and I won't hear the end of it..."

"I won't say anything so long as you promise to be less reckless in the future."

"Deal..." Drina muttered moodily.

"Maybe you should stay the night." Ray suggested. "It'll be hours before the effects from the accident wear off."

"Hmmm..." Xio hummed, frowning. "I suppose... it would probably be a good idea..."

Hesitating a moment, she pulled out her cell phone and called home. A few minutes later, after informing Jessi they were staying at a friend's, the greenette closed the cell and replaced it into her pocket. She then turned to Tyson.

"Thank you for what you did Tyson... If there's anything I can do at all to thank you, please… Let me know."

"It's cool, Xio." Tyson grinned cheekily through his chattering teeth. "You're our friends."

Xio blinked. "Yet we're rivals…"

From his spot against the wall, where he'd been observing the goings on curiously, Kane smiled at the greenette and spoke up for the first time. "Sometimes the biggest of rivals are also the best of friends."

Xio turned to study him for a moment and the bluenette felt himself squirm under her stare, a little unnerved upon not being able to see her eyes. Eventually she smiled at him and he felt himself relax, the sight stirring some pleasant warmth deep inside him.

"How very true." Xio replied in a soft tone. Kane felt a delicious shiver run down his spie at the sound of her voice. It was like listening to the calm and soothing trickle of running water on a hot day.

The room fell silent for the most part after that, the Bladebreakers gazing at Apénanti, who were exchanging a look and having a silent conversation with their eyes.

Suddenly, their lives had just gotten a lot more interesting.


End file.
